TRENTON — The state of New Jersey has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort to legalize sports betting at the state’s casinos and horse racing tracks.

The appeal was filed last Wednesday on behalf of Gov. Chris Christie and the state Legislature, state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), one of the law’s chief sponsors, said.

Lesniak said in a telephone interview that the state expected to hear by June whether the justices will take up the case.

“The overall odds on the Supreme Court taking appeals is not good, it’s about 10 percent,” he said. “I think they’re going to take the case because of it’s of great magnitude — of social issues that have been on the front burner of the Supreme Court in recent years.”

The documents filed with the court were not immediately available.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed last year by the NCAA and the nation’s four major sports leagues.

The leagues maintain that the U.S. Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 prohibits states from legalizing or regulating sports betting, and that New Jersey’s effort to do so would hurt sports in America.

The state contends the law is unconstitutional, and that it has unfairly grandfathered in four states, that it violates the 10th Amendment by forcing states to ban sports betting, and that it “commandeers” the state Legislature.

New Jersey lost the first round in U.S. District Court last year when a judge in Trenton sided with the leagues and the U.S. Justice Department, which later joined the case to defend the federal law.

In September, the state lost another round when a three-judge panel from the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld the earlier ruling in a 2-1 decision. The state was rebuffed again when the full 3rd Circuit denied a request for a rehearing.

Lesniak said he thought the state had a slim chance of getting to make its case before the nation’s high court because of the importance of the decision. A favorable finding could have far-reaching implications for state’s rights, and it would allow New Jersey to stakes it claim to a multibillion-dollar industry.

“Probably less than 50-50,” Lesniak said of New Jersey’s odds. “But if you’re not in, you can’t win it. And we’re in it.”

Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported when the appeal was filed.